The message regarding the extension of the gas price capping scheme is not the right one, because this means that Romania will definitely enter an infringement procedure, said Volker Raffel, CEO of E.ON Romania.

“I don’t know if the message that the (capping, n.d.) scheme will be extended is a very appropriate message, because that means that Romania is entering infringement, for sure. In the economic situation we are in, where economic growth is based on European funds, I don’t think this is a good way. The second thing is that if people pay less for gas, it means that the state should increase taxes, and increased taxes are a topic that no one really wants (…) If you want to go to a free market, you have to be prepared for something. That’s why I asked a year ago and two years ago and three years ago: make a strategy for entering a functional and liquid market. Unfortunately, I will find that neither from the authorities, especially in our sector, for example ANRE, nor from the state, from the ministry, there is a plan with concrete steps, how we get to a prepared market. I think that in the medium and long term, it is certainly much better for Romania if there is a price in a functional market that “It also allows for future investments, because we always have the problem that if we go cheap, in the medium term we don’t end up making investments. An example is the district heating in Bucharest where almost 40% of thermal energy is lost, according to official figures,” said the head of E.ON Romania, quoted by Agerpres.

In his opinion, if the natural gas price cap scheme is extended, work must still be continued to “prepare a functional and free market.”

“We are not afraid of any competition, because we are athletes and we really demand competition. I can say that, even in the context of last year’s heated competition, with the new ones, we did not lose customers in electricity. We lost a few customers and gained other customers and then we were able to stay in the competition. We have 1.2 million customers, maintenance solutions, thermal power plants. We have sold several thousand photovoltaic panels, several thousand heat pumps, several thousand air conditioners and so on. I am convinced that this is also an advantage in the competition, that the market offers solutions that are really desired by consumers. As for the natural gas market, I hope to find out in the coming days what the plan is, because now, a week ago, we all thought that we would have a free market, but probably not. My message is that, even if it were extended for a year (the capping scheme, ed.), this does not mean that we should continue to spend a year preparing a functional market and free, but let’s work on it,” Volker Raffel concluded.